Zombie World Dominationtake 2
by Mechaman
Summary: under 14 no entry, over 16 WARNING: 1st chappy contains graphic death and scenes of despair and suicide, 14 16 beware. 2nd chappy up. pls review.
1. Chapter 1

Rob: All yo peeps in da hoose! sorry bout any1 waiting to see my last fanfic updated, but i got bored of it and made a better one. BEWARE possible grammar issues and lack of real care. the kind of fanfic you just start writing and get carried away with.

The blood stopped pounding in his head, his heart had been pounding for hours after fleeing the city and the carnage that had taken hold, he had seen cars driving past on the nearby motorway now and again, but now and again he would come across wreckage, people who had loaded up their trunks with food and medical supplies before fleeing, usually the people inside the cars were dead, having died in whatever crash it was that took them out, but, now and again, he would be faced with a white-eyed, half-eaten zombie, luckily these weren't the type that ran at you screaming like banshees, they were plain old dumb zombies, the best kind. As he picked his way through a field along the edges he made sure not to disturb the bushes or stick his head over them, any zombies that saw him would instantly start towards his direction, and any zombies in the vicinity would get curious, the last thing he wanted was a horde of flesh-eating cannibals sneaking up on him while asleep. When he reached the fence at the end of the field he stopped and sat down, taking out the radio he had found in a empty police car and listening for broadcasts, there was none, and all he heard was static. Sighing inwardly he packed the radio into the backpack he had with him, it also carried other essentials like food, first aid kit, a change of clothing and a stove, though he had to be careful with the light in the evening, over his shoulder he held a shovel, rusty bloodstains coated the sharpened metal spade from where he had applied a messy end to a few disembowelled zombies, purely because the thought of legless zombies crawling after him freaked him out more than normal.

From his belt hung a 12-inch bowie knife, used more as a tool than a weapon, despite it's size, and a tazer, which he had also found in the police car, and, if applied forcibly to the neck of a zombie produced the startling effect of making their eyes burst from their sockets and their brains to ooze out of their ears, luckily he had been behind the undead-policeman at the time.

He had made numerous discoveries in the short time the crisis had begun, for one, he had discovered that if you kept moving it was impossible to fall prey to their slow advances, suddenly he was struck with an idea. Taking out the radio and turning on the transmitter he said;

"This is pilgrim 5, anyone receiving me?" he asked

"This is pilgrim 1, nice to hear from you man" the guy on the other end said

"I'm going to go check out the train depot on the south side of town, see if they're still working" he said, the power had been knocked out all over the city, and he assumed it was because no one was alive to operate the gas plants

"That's a negative, me and the others are fixing up some transport… what's your position?" the operator asked, they had agreed that two people would be on the radio at all times, there were only 8 of them, 4 were going around in the city raiding for supplies and looking for survivors most of the time, more than once they had freed people who had barricaded themselves in rooms, sticking with the human instinct to avoid danger, they were operating in other groups in the city… people came and went all the time, the other person was like this one, a loner, fully capable of moving unseen through cities and countryside alike, there was a certain trick to it which usually involved avoiding clear spaces and if any signs of zombie activity were detected, they would instantly go into what everyone had termed 'animal ego', i.e both he and the other loner both went into a strange form of hyper-awareness, when in cities he never got the scent of blood away from him when like this, probably because the air was filled with it.

"About a mile or two west of town, near the motorway, when you guys moving out?" he asked

"A day or two, everyone's heading back here until then, we have all the supplies we'll ever need so we figure it's high-time to get the hell out of here" the operator told him, he nodded to himself

"Alright, I'll start heading back now, I'll come in over the roof" he said, they had a nice little set-up, having cleared the tower-block, of course, it also meant they could access it via any of the other tower blocks nearby, they had blown out all the stairs to floors 1-4 and closed the car park shutters, luckily the elevator led down into the carpark, and before blowing out the stairs they had secured the lift controls from the un-needed floors. He had a good idea of what he meant by transport, they had found a large mobile home, easily suited to about 10 people, of course, they had to deal with the undead inside first, he quietly moved on.

When he arrived at the outskirts of the city he was faced by a congregation of about 12 zombies, each one looked like it had been eaten alive before dying; they were victims of a massive flood of the undead who had just recently been revived, and as soon as the first one spotted our anti-hero it let out a low moan and all of them shifted in response, then, as one, they made for the fresh meat. He took a moment to study them. He knew that although they were missing a lot of muscle tissue that was never where their strength lay, if he could keep at the edges, disembowelling with his spade like an axe and then administering coup de gras to their heads when they crawled slowly towards him would solve the problem easily, however, it would also put him in the situation that most people dreaded; melee with a crowd of zombies, if even one of them scratched him it would be all over. Then he realised they were congregating outside a gun shop, and he caught himself expecting gunshots, with all that in mind, he set about his task, moving a couple of metres closer and letting the spade rest at his side while he drew the 12-inch bowie and held in the other

"Hey Rob, planning on taking on all of the zombies at once or something?" came a voice from behind, without taking his eyes away he said;

"No, it's just it would be easier if I had a shotgun" he said, the figure moved forward and stood by him

"Heh, you want a chainsaw to go with that boomstick?" he asked, and Rob heard the revving of a chainsaw motor, he grinned and sheathed the knife, the unknown figure was Jason, another of the lone-badasses that prowled the city looking for supplies to relay to the operator, Rob realised that he must have been told to wait here until Rob arrived, which also meant plans were going accordingly and everyone would appreciate it if no one died.

"You take those six, I'll take the other" Jason said as the first zombie lurched over the chainsaw blade idiotically, the good thing about chainsaws was the fact you could just stand there and let the undead move towards you and onto your weapon of carnage, Rob disdained it however, as it usually attracted more zombies, fortunately they had practically cleared this part of town out. Then, realising he was again lost in thought, he thrust the makeshift axe at the neck of the closest zombie, then following through, pushing through the neck to the floor as the zombie fell, then using the spade to leap through the air and deliver a skull smashing blow to the head of another, he then spun around, bringing final death to a zombie who was in the process of falling towards him teeth bared

"Heh, don't talk to the face, cause it ain't there anymore" he said as the thing slumped to the floor, the remaining part of it's brain showing cleared from the messy slice. That left two on his side, and Jason was eyeing up the three left on his. The remaining two made for Rob at the same time, and had their lives ended by a powerful backhand slice that beheaded both, watching the immediate area for other zombies attracted by the sounds of combat until Jason finished his last opponent

"Your getting pretty good with that" He commented, looking at the zombie with it's face sliced off stumble around blindly, Rob sighed and lit up a cigarette and made for the gun shop, trying the handle he found it was locked, he grinned

"Ah… after the first 9 times you do it it's no longer that fun anymore" he said, heaving a brick through the window and then smashing the jagged pieces of glass aside with the spade.

Now I'd like to take this moment to declare the usefulness of a sharpened spade; it can be used to bludgeon, cut and stab. Unfortunately it also serves another purpose i.e burial (few zombies can actually dig their way out of a grave, being freshly raised, and usually resort to feasting on their own body from hunger).

"Hey, do you actually know anything about firearms?" Jason asked, Rob wasn't surprised, it was an intelligent question

"Hell, I know you don't fire 9mm rounds out of a desert eagle, and if you try you fuck your gun up" he said, Jason was impressed

"Most people don't even know how to load the damn things, I'll wait out here in case anymore ground-lovers show up" he said, grinning, they had both spent evenings commenting on the nature and disposition of zombies, and had figured that seeing as zombies rose from the dead to eat flesh they inherently were creatures of evil, seeing as only a pantheon or illegal research had led to their creation, they both hoped it wasn't the latter, for it would doom them all to the undead god's wrath. Rob leaped through the window and brought immediate death to a zombie that looked to be in some sort of trance, he realised sadly that it was yet another situation they had seen repeated all over the city; the guy had been bitten, fled into a enclosure, locked the door, and eventually died because of whatever was coursing through his veins, all the while a crowd of the undead taunting him in his death moments. They had discovered it was almost impossible to perform research on the infected cells because they oxidised and congealed so quickly after leaving the protective shell of the zombie's body. He blanked the image in front of him and set about tooling up an arsenal of weaponry, he vaulted over the counter and pulled a large black duffle bag from underneath it, grabbed three shotguns from the shelf, one double-barrelled, three 12 gauge pump-action. He quickly kicked the ammo cabinet open and gathered about 8 boxes of standard 12 gauge and loaded the double barrelled shotgun and fired in order to make sure he had the right ammunition for it, satisfied, he unloaded it and put all three weapons and ammo inside the duffle bag. Then he took another look at the zombie, who had a .45 magnum revolver at his hip. Momentarily he considered the hand-cannon, it was a good weapon, able to punch through brick walls, and any zombie he fired it at would either lose something or end up with a hole in his chest. Then he dropped all thought of it when he noticed the Sig Sauer 950 (random number sorry xD), he had a model BB-gun at home based off of it and had spent countless hours of target practice on a target in his room, he sighed and realised it was reasonable to assume that if they were going to start using firearms it was best to get guns that were common, so there was plentiful ammunition, he grabbed 10 of the 9mm pistols commonly used by police and criminals alike, and grabbed all the 9mm ammunition he could, remembering that the brown-tipped ones were more volatile than usual, happily, he noticed there was still space in the bag for a few more treats, so he grabbed a few of the pineapple grenades that the guy had obviously collected from the World Wars, whether or not they would still work was beyond Rob. Happy he had collected such an arsenal of weaponry, he set about finding holsters and slings, he fixed two holsters to either side of his belt, and put a loaded 9mm in both, he then ditched off the backpack, taking out the radio, so he could attach the sling, and slid the empty double-barrelled shotgun in place, he grinned at the mental image and pulled himself through the window after retrieving his shovel.

"Regular Mad Max" Jason commented, Rob nodded and passed him a 9mm with some bullets, Jason unloaded the clip and started filling it, after he had done so he holstered it in his pants

"Let's go" he said, and let Jason lead the way back to the hideout.

"Damn… you guys just never cease to surprise me" Guye said in reference to the now open bag of weaponry, Rob un-slinged the shotgun and set it down

"Just where exactly are you planning on going in this armoured beast of yours?" He asked Guye, he was the operator on the other side of the radio

"Anywhere away from here man, although it would probably be best to find some kind of military bunker" he said, Jason exclaimed at that

"What so they shoot us with rocket launchers for invading their territory?" he asked, Rob sat down at the table and pulled out a saw, then set to work on the double-barrelled shotgun.

"Who says they will? Anyway, they have automatic weaponry, grenade launchers, tanks, anything they could need, why would they push us away?" Guye asked

"Infection, everyone knows it spreads through blood contact with those things, but people will be worrying about whether or not the infection will mutate" Sarah said, she was a regular chemistry whizz, aged 19, the mere fact that she knew the details of micro-biology and countless other scientific professions warranted her presence among their group, on average they were 18, though the oldest was 20 and the youngest 16. For some of the older members the judgement day had hit them hard, their lives had been torn from all of them in one fell swoop, for the younger members it was a little easier, but they had all lost people they loved and cared for, and treated each other as family… well… unless romantic relations were involved, in which case everyone was eternally thankful that they weren't related.

"She is right, unfortunately. It means we're going to have to go to some remote place and try and sit this out, anyone got that map?" Thomas asked, Jason pulled his out of his backpack and handed it over, Thomas proceeded to open it out and revealed an entire-world illustrated map, on the flipside was a map showing the various mountains and deserts of the world. While Jason held such a large map, everyone else carried smaller ordinance black books so they knew where they were. Rob rarely used maps, relying rather on his own 40/40 eyesight to gauge his position, there was a clang as the end of the shotgun barrel hit the floor.

"So your saying we should head off to Alaska for a couple of years?" he asked Thomas

"Not necessarily Alaska, some deserted island will do" he said, the four of them grinned at that

"So boat or helicopter?" Guye asked

"Boat, we can transport more food and supplies in the hold that way" Jason offered

"Though we run the risk of being stranded out at sea with no fuel and lost" Guye countered, Jason frowned

"Don't worry about it, I can navigate water quite easily, just so long as we don't head to Hawaii or something, because I can't pilot a ship so well on open waters" Rob told them

"Ahh, another skill you profess to. Is there anything you can't do?" Guye asked, Rob grinned

"Yeah, put up with your cockiness when I just spent three days killing zombies and running away from them" he said, Jason laughed at that, both Guye and Sarah fell silent

"Hey, I'm sorry you guys have to go out there but we wanted to make a sweep of the city for supplies, you'll understand surely?" Guye asked

"Don't ask us to understand why, Don't be so arrogantly cocky, and we won't ask why you're not out there with us" Jason admonished, Guye swore, then thought better for it and apologised

"It's okay, you two know how to use one of these?" Rob asked them, holding out two 9mms in both hands by the barrel to both of them

"I do" Guye said, taking the weapon and sighting down on the t.v screen, he grinned and lay the gun next to his radio, which jumped to life through static

"-re pin--- down---- Bobby was bitten…. He's losing a lot of blood… Guye, you read me? Over" came in the transmission

"This is Guye, what's the situation?" he asked, fear etched in his voice, Rob looked to Jason and they nodded to each other and stood up, each taking a pump-action shotgun and a box of shells each

"We're stuck in downtown, we were raiding a supermarket when they appeared out of nowhere, we didn't notice them until we were outside… oh god…" he said

"Name" Rob said

"We need a name Sam, quickly" Guye said

"Harrold's, it's just past the train station, are you guys coming to get us out?" she asked, her terror adding to the fear of their own

"Alright, just sit tight!" Guye shouted and got up, holstering the 9mm in his pants as Jason had

"We'll never get there in time with you two holding us up" Jason told them, it was true, both Rob and Jason were adept and charging through debris-filled streets when un-encumbered, nimbly throwing themselves over cars and treading lightly while others would pick their way through the wreckage

"We won't be holding you up, we're taking that armoured beast you so fondly spoke of" Guye said, Rob grinned, regardless of how fast they could run through the streets, a veritable armoured battering ram would handle the situation much easier

"Let's go then" Sarah said, picking up a 9mm for herself

"How's he doing?" Scott asked Sam, who was kneeling over the one called Bobby, their remaining comrade, Vincent, was staring a zombie point blank in the face through the window

"He's unconscious at the minute… I'm glad we brought those field dressings" she said, Bobby's arm and torso had been heavily bandaged where he had been bitten, but his condition was deteriorating, and all of them knew what that would mean soon.

"They won't get here in time…" Vincent said, still watching the zombies as they pressed themselves against the double-glazed window

"I know…" Scott told him, Sam looked up at them both, confusion mixed with tears, then Bobby coughed, spluttering blood over his chin and neck like a fountain

"I… was bitten?" He asked calmly, Sam smiled despite herself, Scott merely looked, unable to answer

"Then I'll be one of them soon…" he said, Scott nodded, Bobby sighed, bringing forth another spout of blood

"Well… you know what you have to do" he said

"What? No!" Sam shouted

"I wasn't talking to you…" he said sadly, he knew she loved him, and he loved her too, which made this hard.

"He was talking to me…" Scott said, a dead look in his eye, almost as if he had turned into a zombie too

"No! This is wrong!" Sam shouted, crying

"You don't have a choice, it's kill or be killed" Bobby told her, smiling at that

"How do you propose I do it? I'm not breaking your neck and I don't have a gun" Scott told him, Bobby nodded and sat up painfully

"Hey Vince!" he shouted between coughs, Vincent was the youngest member of their troupe, and didn't need to see this

"Yeah?" He asked, kneeling down next to him

"Be a good kid will you? Go fetch me a can of cola… I'd rather die with a sweet taste in my mouth" he said, Vincent stared at him a moment, then ran off silently, Bobby could feel the pain of the boy as if it was a psychic bond

"Hey Scott…" He said

"Yeah?" he asked, kneeling down next to Sam

"Take care of that kid will you… it's a hard world after all" he said, and the hacking cough returned, this time more violently, his bandages were already wet with red blood, Sam wiped the blood from his face, but Bobby pushed her away

"Come on Scott, be a man!" he shouted, which brought about more blood, Sam ceased trying to keep his face bloodless and kissed him hard, tears forming again in her eyes, then went off to find Vincent. Scott looked uncertainly at him

"What are you? Chicken?" Bobby said, Scott looked away

"Your mother was a whore!" Bobby shouted, then grinned when Scott looked back, his usually stony gaze moistening

"It's not hard to kill, I've killed before. It was a child, only 8 years of age, she followed me home and I didn't know what to do…" he said, smiling, Scott stared

"It's so easy to maintain a visage when everyone around you is dead, is it not?" he asked, then coughed again, Scott felt an odd feeling inside, very cold, so cold it infected his heart and reached into his soul, and he knew what it was he had to do. He straddled Bobby's chest and put his hands to his throat, then squeezed with all the strength he could muster, hoping that crushing his windpipe would provide quick release, Bobby was smiling all along up until the final second, where he whispered;

"I lied." He said, and died.

Scott stood up and walked quietly to the toilets, his face pale, he began washing his hands and looked himself in the mirror, staring himself in the eye, suddenly he felt very sick and threw up. His hands and throat felt as if they were on fire, burning with agony at having destroyed someone's life… he walked out and over to the window Vincent had been watching the Zombies out of it

"You're all the same… aren't you…" he said to himself, watching as they scratched on the window, trying to feed on him through the invisible barrier

"Is… he dead?" Sam asked quietly

"Yes…" Scott told her, she nodded silently

"Where's Vincent?" He asked, she looked at him squarely

"Crying… he wanted to be alone…" Sam said

"I can understand that… he's dealt with a lot of death for his age…" Scott said

"We all have" Sam told him, he nodded. Then a scream cut through the air, and Scott swore, recognising Vincent's voice, he quickly ran to where the scream had come from, only to find Bobby standing over the child's bloodied body… or at least Zombie-Bobby, No, Scott realised, this thing was no longer Bobby, only like those outside, and he charged it, delivering a punch that sent the zombie crashing through shelves, he quickly ran over to deliver his boot to the zombie's head when it moved with inhuman speed and grabbed his leg, ripping a large part of the muscle from it, he screamed and crushed the zombie's head, then he looked over to Vincent and broke down

"He's… dead… I'm worthless…" he said, shaking, Sam arrived and gasped in horror at the sight, she looked at Scott and saw a suicidal glint in his eye, he stood up and walked over to the fire axe, again using his boot in order to acquire it, he then turned and walked towards the exit

"Scott… No!" Sam said, barely managing to keep up

"This is Freedom…" he said, and unlocked the door, Sam could only watch in despair as he hacked his way through the first three zombies, only to be overwhelmed and eaten alive by the 40 that stormed through.

"I'm alone…" she said, and she no longer cared or even perceived that the Zombies had already ceased feasting on Scott and were moving towards her, she only remembered her mother's caring embrace, ruby-red sunsets from some unknown memory, she knew peace.

When Guye cannoned through the collective mass of zombies, smashing skulls apart and crushing bodies using the 10-ton armoured mobile home, both Jason and Rob were ready to move before the door opened, and both let loose a torrent of shotgun blasts, ripping through skulls and flesh alike, Sarah came over and started putting bullets into the fight as well, and Rob was abruptly aware the Zombies had somehow broken into the supermarket and were making their way through the shop

"Cover me!" he shouted, Jason and Sarah took up position on either side of him as they blasted their way through the circle of death, Guye appeared at the door and unleashed the remaining shotgun on any who dared try and enter the vehicle, as soon as he saw an opening, Rob dropped the shotgun, drew both 9mm pistols, and ran forward, putting bullets into the heads of every zombie he saw until he could set a perimeter between the zombies and the rest of the store, he grabbed Sam by the shoulders, snapping her out of whatever trance she was in, her eyes glazed over momentarily and she grabbed him, crying. Behind he heard the collective gunfire protecting the perimeter, most of the zombies were trying to get into their mobile battering ram now

"Where is everyone?" he asked her, she looked up

"They're dead… all of them…" she said, he nodded silently and helped her stand, but she didn't let go, rather she just let him support her arm over his neck while he used one of the pistols to cleave a path through the ranks, Sarah and Jason both picked up that it was time to leave and pressed hard, driving the Zombies away from Rob and Sam until they got to the vehicle, then they all piled in, Jason blasting a few more before closing the door

"Where to Captain?" Guye asked

"Away from here! Just get us out of the city!" Rob shouted, helping Sam to one of the beds, he set her down, and yet she didn't let go

"What happened?" he asked, she just cried, He understood what she was going through, she had watched two of her remaining friends and the man she loved die in the most grotesque way imaginable, she only rolled over, Rob sighed and made to stand when she grabbed his hand

"Don't leave… please…" she whispered between sobs, he lay down next to her and laid her head over his neck

"Shh… it's okay…" he told her trying some vain attempt at comforting her, And Sam was reminded again of happier times. And again she broke down.

"He… turned into a zombie after we…" she said, sobbing, he realised how it had happened, everything had gone completely wrong, pulling back he kissed her forehead, her red hair covered in blood from where she had tried to heal Bobby, he looked her deeply in the eyes

"You are alive. You are still Sam. Just more fucked up than usual, understand?" he told her, she frowned, then nodded, her tears subsiding a little, but she still looked pale, and sorrow filled her eyes so that all she knew was pain, he held her like that for hours without moving, letting Jason and Sarah navigate for Guye.

She woke up in his arms, and wondered if she were being dishonest to Bobby's ghost by sharing the bed with him, but she realised that was stupid, here was now and now was here, she sat up

"How do you feel?" Rob asked without opening his eyes

"How do you do that?" she asked

"Do what?" he replied

"Talk through your sleep" she said

"Easy, I just never assume that I'm asleep" he said, and opened his eyes, brown usually but they took a golden sheen in the morning light, matching her light blue, he sat up

"I asked you a question" he said

"I feel terrible…" she told him, he nodded

"That's expected, just tell someone if you need a hand, okay?" he told her, she nodded and smiled, although it was hollow, he stood up and walked over to the others

"Where are we?" he asked

"Somewhere between loser-Ville and the beach" Guye said in reference to their previous home

"We need to make for a coastal town where there'll be a dock and supplies, how long were we asleep?" he asked

"Just overnight, how is she?" Sarah asked

"Pretty fucked up, but she'll live" he told her, she stared at him a moment, then nodded

"We used up a lot of ammo getting her out" Guye said, Jason slapped him over the head, at 17, he was the new youngest member of the group, and would be treated accordingly

"You've got a lot to learn boy. We'll start with your tongue" he said, grinning, Sarah smiled, Rob just went to check on the ammunition. However casual, Guye was right, they had used up half of their entire armoury on that horde of zombies.


	2. Life and Living

Rob: And via the mysterious arts of technopaganism I transport your perceptions roughly 7 hours ahead.

Readers: You suck.

Rob: Remember people, awareness leads to power…

The five remaining survivors arrived at Costa Pico (sue me if it's an actual place) at 4:00 o'clock the following day. To recap: our hero/anti-hero has been introduced, along with fellow survivors 2-4, survivors 5,6 and 7 are all dead, 8 was rescued thanks to survivors 1,2,3 and 4. Survivors 1,2,3,4 and 8 leave the city and head for a sea port (city was land-locked) called Costa Pico, naturally, both Nick and Jason want to head in first to check out zombie activity, but there is a conflict of opinions…

Oh, and 8 went insane:

"Personally I don't see why we shouldn't just roll on in there" Guye said, Jason laughed, but Nick only smiled.

"This thing makes a lot of noise." He supplied.

"What?" Guye asked.

"They're worried that if we do just roll in there all the zombies are going to come out of their hiding places and swarm us, then we can't get out of this tank thing" Sarah told, Guye considered this.

"Couldn't we just lure them all out and then mow them over?" Guye asked.

"Yes, but that'll waste petrol" Jason told him, Nick stood up and took one of the 9mms, with the sawn-off shotgun and his spade.

"God… you look more like some kind of Evil dead survivor with all that gear" Jason told him, he loaded the sawn-off and left the ammo for it.

"Maybe, but I'm better, so are you" he said with a grin, Jason nodded at that and picked up a 9mm. He then walked over to the window and peeked out of the iron bars, they had stopped about 500 metres away from the port before they had decided on going no further, on a country road behind a large barn, they would go in over the fields as inconspicuously as possible, make a quick recon, and pull out. Both of them knew it probably wouldn't be that simple, With no sign of zombie activity, such as dead people, loud noises or indeed the living dead, they opened the door and leaped out, then closed it silently, making for the barn around the north side, away from the city. The two of them stood on either side of the barn doors and signalled each other to open the doors, as the doors slid back, the evening light filled the barn, Jason walked in, pistol drawn and held in both hands, looked around his immediate surroundings, then grinned

"Nothing here" he said, and there was nothing there, no cows, no zombies, just the supports for the building and a small amount of hay.

"Great, I'll see you here in 2 hours, perimeter search?" Nick asked

"Yeah yeah, I'll see you later" Jason said, and left the barn for the north side of town, the shortest route, Nick left and headed around the fields so he would come in through the east, the two of them knew it was far easier to go it alone than with even one person with them.

Reaching where he could get a better view he leapt over the fence and onto the road, looking around quickly with the elevated position he took in the surroundings, to the north-east lay the barn and the armoured vehicle, ahead lay a straight road leading directly into the town, he grinned and started walking, and it wasn't long before he started to see corpses on the road, most had bullet holes in their heads, and that sparked a small amount of relief, if someone had been shooting up zombies, and by the smell of it, it was quite a while ago there would be a lot less zombies actually in the town, he knelt down next to one of the bodies and poked it in the face with his 9mm, happy it wasn't alive, he examined the bullet rounds, it seemed not only were they shot in the head but a large amount of bullets had ended up in their torsos, after examining another he was certain that it was probably military or mafia with automatic or semi-automatic weapons, that meant M-16s, sub-machine guns, Uzis, Desert Eagles, 9mms (seeing as no self-respecting mafia member would never dream of using Berettas) and a serious attitude. It also meant that Nick could travel in confidence now, and he merrily walked down the path, shovel over his shoulder and guns in their holsters.

There was a knock on the door and Sarah and Guye looked to one another, Sarah picked up one of the 9mms and opened the door

"We're back" both Nick and Jason said, apparently unscathed and un-bloodied

"What happened?" Sarah asked

"Nothing, the town is deserted, plenty of supplies too" Jason told her

"So we can just drive on in?" Guye asked, almost mockingly

"Yep" Nick told him, and got in, he went through to the back where Sam was wide awake and reading a book

"Hey" He said

"Hey yourself" she replied, smiling

"How are you?" Nick asked

"Pretty good, when're you next going out there?" she asked, Nick smiled

"Soon, the port is deserted, it's an easy ride" he told her, she smiled

"That's good to hear… er…" she said, Nick motioned for her to continue

"Thanks…" She said

"For what?" He asked

"Taking care of me… and saving my life" she said, he nodded

"We all helped, I couldn't have done that alone" he told her

"It was sweet of you" she said, he smiled

"Hey, we're in this together right?" he asked

"Yeah, of course" she said, smiling

"You want something to eat? Me and Jason brought some food back" he asked her, she nodded and stood up, then went through and sat down with a smile on her face. Again he was aware of his role in the group as the one of the two hunter-gatherers and sighed inwardly. He walked in after her, sitting down and putting some music on, and he lit up a cigarette, they had an extensive library of music at all times, thanks to the evolution of the hand-held market with such products as the mp3 player and iPod

The port was indeed deserted from everything apart from bullet-ridden zombies, there was more than enough damage to the infrastructure of some of the buildings to suggest someone had a tank or missile launcher and was busy incinerating other zombies as they arrived

"Alright, Guye, find us a store we can raid, everyone's on duty" Jason told Guye, who nodded and pulled up across the street from a gas station, it was night and the moon was casting a eerie glow over the town, Nick only had his faithful shovel with him while everyone else tooled up with a 9mm each.

"Hey, can I ask you a question Nick?" Guye asked

"Sure" he replied

"We all know Jason here was in the military, so that explains his efficiency, but you're a normal guy aren't you? No combat training, no tactical rehearsal and so forth, what makes you so goddamn prone to surviving this hell?" he asked, Nick was momentarily stunned by the precision of the question

"You're a smart kid when you want to be, it's the same thing, just rely on your ability to perceive zombies before they bite you, a zombie that hasn't seen you is a very good thing" he explained, Jason nodded

"He's right, but it doesn't explain who he is" he said to Guye, Nick grinned

"You want a life history or something?" he asked, Guye nodded, Nick paused momentarily

"Maybe once we get out of this port yeah? Something doesn't seem right" he said, ignoring the ominous portent of what he just said, and the group left the security of the armoured vehicle and walked over to the gas station, Sam with them, holding a 9mm relaxed in her left hand

"Okay whaddaya need?" Guye asked, Jason and Sarah were already moving through the small shop, filling baskets with tinned food, chocolate and pastries

"You can get the drinks, grab a few of those Red Bull multi-packs as well, they'll come in handy if someone has to keep watch" Nick told him, and jumped over the counter with a basket, filling it with cigarettes, batteries, disposable razors and, without grace, shoved three boxes of tampons to the bottom of the pile, deciding that leaving them because of gender/social issues would probably result in him being slapped around like a kitten by the two femmes of the group, he noticed Sam looking out the window and looked himself, then swore

"Guys! Pistols out!" he said, leaping back over the counter, ditching the basket, and marching out of the shop, shovel at the ready

"Hey shitheads! Watch what your doing with that!" he shouted at the two people nosing around their transport, both jumped and pulled guns, turning and delivering a barrage of shots into the windows of the garage, Nick swore even more violently than before and dived back in, where he saw everyone crouching for cover on either side of the door

"What happens now?" Guye said, peeking his head round the door, Jason pulled him back as shots impacted the wall near him

"Well, they have our truck, but they won't get far, we've got the fuel" Nick replied, grinning, there was a cessation of gunfire, and Sam took a look out of the destroyed window

"One of them just punched the other" she said, Nick took a look, then stood up and walked out again

"Gentlemen! I see you are well equipped to deal with the onslaught we face these days! I ask for parley!" he shouted, Jason laughed at that, but the two holstered their weapons and walked over

"Sorry, there's a crapload of dead zombies that've met some wannabe rambos, we figured what with this armoured beast of yours you must have been with them, we were about to raid that store afterwards" the kid said, pointing. He was about 15, dirty, bloodied around the knees, but ready to blast every single one of them if needs be, he reminded Nick of himself at that age

"Yeah, I saw the aftermath of that outside town, who were they? Military? Police?" he asked

"Military, real gung-ho cowboys too" the other kid said, he looked a little older, but not much, he realised the first kid was sporting a black eye, and had fired on them first.

"Listen, you guys want the truck, take it, we're here for a boat" he told them, the young survivors looked at one another, grinned, and shook their heads

"That's what brought us here man, great minds think alike" the first said, Nick frowned, the story didn't fit

"About those boats?" He prompted

"You could try the warehouse down on the docks, we got a ignition key from there in one of the rooms" said the first kid again; the second was quiet, quiet enough to raise that suspicion bar just a little bit more

"Right, thanks. Give us a day or two and then you can take that truck wherever you want, I'll leave the keys in the ignition" he said, and turned, walking towards the gas station, he could feel their glare on the back of his skull.

"Well?" Jason asked

"They're lying, they've been holed up here for days, they aren't carrying those guns for killing zombies either" Nick told him

"You think?" Jason asked, Nick nodded

"What?" Guye, Sarah and Sam all asked at once

"Whoever it was that blasted through here a couple of days ago, left these kids here to gather resources like weapons, food, etc, they'll then be picked up in a few days with everything they have, in return they get hot food, a bed, an almost normal lifestyle" Jason told them

"But all we've got are 9mms, a few shotguns and food, we don't pose much of a threat against tanks, apaches and assault rifles" Guye said

"You're thinking too linear; they can't get the fuel for helicopters, that'll just be a waste, however they probably quite like the look of our contraption, I told them they could have it anyway" Nick said

"What? Why!" Jason shouted

"Don't need it anymore." He explained, and told them about the warehouse

"That sounds like a trap" Sam offered

"Anything they said would be a trap, if only to get us to bugger off for a while" Nick said

"We need to get our stuff off the truck" Sarah said with a groan

"Yep, come on" Jason said, walking out, all of them walked up to the truck, weapons holstered, the two kids were leaning against it like it was already theirs

"What do you want?" the first asked

"Our stuff, get out of the way" Jason told him, he bowed and moved aside, and the group walked in, Nick picked up two of the remaining 9mms and his sawn-off, Sam and Jason both picked up an extra 9mm while Guye, Sarah and Jason all picked up the remaining shotguns, then they started packing the food and supplies away.

"Okay… where are the keys?" Sarah asked, Nick swore

"Right, let's go" he said

"Where?" Jason asked

"Back to the truck, those little bastards lied to us" he said, when they got back the truck was missing, so it had obviously been stolen already

"At least we still have our weapons" Guye said, looking on the bright side of things, Jason was showing irritation

"So what now? No truck, no boat, we're stuck!" Sam shouted, Nick lit up a cigarette

"Not necessarily" he said, taking a concentrated draw

When they reached the boat yards Sarah was about ready to proclaim Nick insane when he jumped aboard a medium-sized yacht

"What? I can use one of these, and I can train you guys to help" he told them, Jason seemed amused, and Guye was excited

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked

"Definitely, Guye, you know anything about sailing?" he asked

"I know your supposed to move the sail so the wind catches it, and someone has to hold the rudder or we'll lose direction" he said uncertainly

"That's pretty much it once everything's set, bet your glad I brought a compass now" he said to Jason, who nodded and joined him, the others shrugged and jumped on too

"Right, Guye, you've got the rudder, I'll do the first shift on the mainsail so you guys know what your doing" he told them, and cast off the pier

2 days later they were getting hungry, and the work was an almost lonely business, everyone went below deck to avoid the cold of the sea air after their shift, and eventually Nick ended up staying on deck so they didn't have to change all the time

"How long has he been out there?" Guye asked

"Since last night… he says he doesn't mind the cold" Jason said, shivering

"Bullshit" Sam said, and went outside

"You okay?" she asked, Nick nodded, he seemed to be lost in concentration

"You know if your too cold you can come down" she told him, he nodded again

"I'll come down before tonight so I don't freeze" he said, she shook her head

"That's not good enough, stop being so independent" she told him, he broke his concentration and smiled at her

"It's not about being independent, I enjoy sailing, pure and simple" he said, she sighed and sat down next to him at the rudder

"How goes things pilot?" she asked, he grinned

"No ship activity, fog's setting in, I might want to drop anchor overnight if those clouds start kicking the bucket, we'll have to drop the mainsail so we don't get struck by lightning" he explained

"We don't have to worry about any of those zombies out here do we?" she asked, he shook his head

"They might be attracted to us, but they can't swim in open water, mostly they just sink to the bottom" he told her, she smiled and moved closer to him, he noticed this and smiled

"How are you anyway?" he asked

"Cold" she told him, he nodded and offered his jacket, she stuck her lip out

"You're completely selfless aren't you!" she shouted, he knew she was toying with him, but also that she felt very alone

"Don't hide your emotions" he told her, she looked shocked

"You still feel pain over Bobby, don't you?" he asked, she locked his eyes for a moment, and then looked down

"Yes… but I don't think I loved him… not really…" she said, growing sadder just for saying that

"You shouldn't lie to yourself either" he told her, she looked up, all he was doing was staring out into the evening sky

"Who are you?" she asked

"My name is Nicolas, Nick for short, that's all that matters" he told her, she stood up

"Your wrong, there's more to you than just a name" she said, he nodded

"There is that" he told her

"What about your past? Where did you go to school?" she asked

"A small town just south of here, I was planning on going past it, I had some good times back then, and then some bad" he said, keeping it short

"Your parents?" she asked

"They divorced near the end of my second year, I haven't spoken to my father for 8 years" he told her, and a pained look crossed his face

"What's wrong?" she asked, and the same, stoic face returned

"My family is dead. So is yours, that's why my past has no meaning" he told her, she smiled

"You're pretty deep, you know that?" she asked

"Yes. Underneath any sailor is a philosopher, and humans don't come much deeper than that, if only everyone wasn't so bloody ignorant we'd probably of lived in Utopia" he said, shaking his head and muttering, then he paused and lit up a cigarette

"How come you smoke?" she asked, he grinned

"I started by smoking cannabis, then got addicted to nicotine, what I didn't know was my dealer laced the stuff with ketamines, and I got addicted to them as well, I quit weed after finding that out" he told her, she frowned, she had seen people on ketamines before, it was used by some for date-rape, and those who were addicted were almost as bad as smack-addicts, she looked at him critically, and saw nothing to show that other than that he seemed uncommonly focused and strong, she felt a deep admiration for this guy, a man in his own aspect yet only 18 years of age, opposed to Jason's 20

"That must have been hard for you" she said, knowing too well that going cold-turkey from smack could actually kill a man, she was unsure about ketamines on the other hand

"People didn't understand me, my mind was erratic and useless, so I learned to focus, and to be aware, when I did eventually come off weed the traits stayed with me, only grew stronger" he told her, smiling at the irony of it

"Thank you" he said

"For what?" she asked, blushing slightly

"I've never been able to talk to someone openly about all of this. You're the first." He said, she gawped.

"I… I'm sorry to intrude" she said, he laughed

"I told you, thank you" he told her, they paused, just watching each other, and then she smiled

"Your welcome" she said, he nodded and looked up, then changed course

"It's going to rain, I'll make for that bay there and we'll drop anchor, it'll only take a minute with these winds" he said, she just looked at him silently while he adjusted the mainsail until he noticed she hadn't done anything, she stood up and walked over to him, locking him in the eyes again

"What?" he asked, and she kissed him, he pulled back at first, then let go of himself and kissed back, holding her cheek gently in his hand, a minute passed until they stopped, and both knew affection for one another

"I…" she began, but he silenced her and kissed her once on the lips

"Too much of a good thing can be bad" he told her quietly, and dropped the anchor, he then set about covering the deck and dropping the mainsail

"We received a message 10 minutes ago, there's a ship out there broadcasting on all frequencies, they're standing by" Jason said as the two walked into the cabin

"What was the message?" Sam asked

"'To anyone who's listening: We have a battleship free of infection, anyone wishing to join us can do so as long as they aren't infected.' They asked for people to bring food and medical supplies, fuel if possible" Guye recited

"Sounds good." Jason offered, Nick nodded and picked up the radio

"Hi there, is anyone receiving me?" he asked, and flipped the receiver

"This is the S.S Redemption, we changed the name, receiving you, over" the operator responded, Nick thought for a moment

"We received your message, what is your position?" he asked

"45 miles west of Port Pico, we have you on radar, what's your situation? Over" the operator requested

"5 survivors, food, weapons. We're scraping by" Nick told him, and passed the radio to Jason

"Understood, any wounded?" the guy asked

"None, we lost 3 from our original group" Jason said

"What're your plans for tonight?" the operator asked

"We're planning on weighing anchor in this bay for the night, there's a storm coming, we'll find you in the morning" Jason said

"Received, we'll move closer to the port. We're picking up radio messages all over the place, more people survived than we thought, command wants to see whether we can do something about this veritable Armageddon" the operator said

"Understood, good night, over." Jason said, and turned the radio off

"This is good, someone's actually got off their arse and is trying to help" Guye commented

"Maybe" Nick told him, Guye frowned

"What makes you say that?" he asked

"They spoke of command, so they may have ulterior motives, but, if your right, then we may have the ability to reclaim this planet" Nick said, and Sam saw a shine in his eyes where they had been so dark and tired before

The yacht had three rooms below deck, the one they were in held a double-bed, just like the others, so sleeping arrangements were not an issue, especially not after Jason pulled a bottle of scotch from his bag, Guye grinned and took out five plastic cups from his

"You got any soft drinks to go with that?" Sarah asked

"Yep." He said, and they filled the cups, the room they were in was the largest, and had a table where they were all sat around, there was a shelf of books to one side that was currently being examined from across the room by Nick, he stood up and picked one out

"Gawd dammit, the apocalypse kicks off and you start reading books?" Jason asked, Nick walked back over and dropped the book on the table, it was about 3 inches thick

"It's called _Shogun_, about a English pilot who gets chased by the Spanish through the panama canal and ends up on the other side of the world, he becomes a slave, then is elevated to the honour of a liege lord with vassals and two swords after saving his captor. The western samurai, so to put it. Just another example of where humanity went wrong" he said

"He was given position by a person who imprisoned him? So he's a turncoat" Jason said

"Not exactly, he was given the position because he did an honourable thing, he preserved the life of someone whose honour vastly outweighed his own, and he showed honour and respect in the face of torture and brutality, so they made him one of their own, he went on to burn Portuguese ships trading with the Nipponese, as the Japanese call themselves in their language" Nick explained, Jason was impressed

"Sounds like a good book" he conceded

"More, if someone can imagine an idea like that, or create entire worlds inside their own minds, or even imagine an entire world that has already been created, surely humanity _can_ be redeemed, all it takes is for people to face their natures and their destinies" Nick told them, Sarah and Sam were both listening quietly, unsure of how to comment, but Jason said;

"Philosophy, eh? Didn't realise you were a student" he said

"I got interested in it a short while before this all kicked off, but before that I was into Buddhism and Shamanism and Discordia and all that crap, in reality I was only looking for a path, and I almost found it when I discovered the political side of punk" he told them, Sarah smiled slightly at that, and Nick caught it

"Fucking Anarchist" Jason said with a hint of glee, Nick shook his head

"Please, you know as well as I do that's only a label in itself, it's how the media managed to manipulate people's understanding of Anarchy, they did the same with Communism" Nick said, Sarah frowned

"But the Communist revolution ended with just another dictator, Stalin" she said, Nick laughed

"Anyone who gets into that power position at the very top could be a dictator, just as easily as a benevolent person who got into that position could create practical miracles in the world around him, what people fail to understand is the power that they have already, just by thinking they form ideas and opinions. Unfortunately they lack the independent mind to act on them because they're force fed tripe about how they have to work in order to pay taxes and eat when in fact all that was really happening was mass exploitation" he explained, and knew he was talking more than he had for a long time

"What do you mean, mass exploitation?" Sam asked suspiciously

"Okay, Capitalism in a bag: You work, you get paid, you pay taxes, and we provide food, shelter, warmth, water and electricity. What they don't tell you about is the profit margin they make when you work; you never get your full wage because that's taxed already" he explained

"So what? You got a better idea?" Jason asked, Nick smiled

"Yep, get rid of it. Change it, make it evolve, do whatever, hell I'll gladly go with Anarchy, it'll give everyone equality, which will make all this moral bullshit disappear because everyone lives in the same size house, eat the same amount of food, drink the same amount of water, use the same amount of electricity, etc" he told them, Jason shook his head

"Your saying that there would be no power structure?" he asked

"No, not as such a power structure but a control structure, so that people can communicate collectively" Nick said

"Power is control." Jason stated, Nick shook his head

"Control is only power when that control can solidify its position in power. If we simply change the control structure every couple of months that can't happen" Nick explained, Jason laughed and rocked on his chair, Sarah and Sam had been pouring drinks all through the discussion, un-evenly mixing the drinks, of course they had restricted the amount slightly in Guye's drinks, only to ensure he was awake until they all went to sleep

"Okay, but where exactly would we get to get power from? And food? And Water?" Guye asked, showing the rare sign he was more intelligent than he seemed

"You mean Capitol? Well that's the interesting thing, Capitalism for a short while can be a liberating thing, it can elevate nations from poverty and make things just a damn sight more comfy. But after a while Capitalism starts losing that exponential growth in economy and welfare, because the competition starts growing and putting Capitol into other countries so that they still get the profit from the wages, but the rest of the wages feed that nation, making it stronger until eventually they're just as dependant on capitalism as we were, So the two markets have to go head to head in order to survive. It simply doesn't occur to co-operate because the idea is completely alien" Nick explained, pausing momentarily to drink and light up a cigarette, then he noticed Sam watching him visibly relax and he smiled at her, she realised she was thinking about what he had said earlier about his past drug-use while staring at him lighting a cigarette, she tried to give him a comforting smile

"Not to mention counter-productive" Jason clarified

"That's true as well, as to what you asked, the all the food and water and electricity is already here, we just need people to work the fields and the levers and the pumps" he said, smiling

"This all came from picking up that bloody book" Sarah said, looking at _Shogun_

"The simple fact is that Capitalism, as a system, doesn't work long-term. The reason I like the samurai tradition of Honour so much is because it worked as a system based off something that is inherently human, they just forgot to change the command structure" he finished, Guye sank into his chair

"All this makes me almost glad the Zombies took over" he said, there were a few abrupt chuckles at that from Nick and Jason, who then shut up. Nick looked away; he had gotten caught up in old debates that brought out something from him that he hadn't felt since the crisis began 2 months ago.

"With that note, I'm going to bed" Sarah said, and walked out of the room, Jason smiled

"I'll sleep in here if you don't mind, I prefer to be near the exit" he said, and threw himself on the bed, breaking some of the supports

"Sam, I can't decide where I'm sleeping until you decide" Nick told her, she grinned and put his cigarette out

"You'll sleep in my room" she said, Jason smiled, and shot Guye a questioning look, he shook his head and the two walked out of the room, her arm in his.

"Er… shouldn't she be feeling upset about -?" Guye said quietly, Jason shook his head

"She still is, human compassion can be a valuable thing, Guye, don't forget that" Jason told him, and tried to go to sleep. Guye said nothing for a while, finishing his drink, then looked at _Shogun_, he smiled and started to read, losing himself from the pain of the world around him as he was transported into another. He didn't stop reading until it was nearly morning…

Rob: Crapoth. I apologise to those readers who wanted some action in the form of gore and maimings (like I would give you any other in a zombie survival horror) I also apologise for ranting a bit. Merely setting the scene for the future chappy's

Readers: WTF is this shit!

Rob: heh.


End file.
